Method and apparatus for bending arches for doorways and the like

ABSTRACT

An arch bending apparatus is disclosed for bending a flat workpiece into an elongated U-shaped piece. An immobile member having a beveled surface and a pivoted movable member having a surface corresponding to the beveled surface of the immobile member are adapted to mate together. A lever is provided for moving the beveled surface of the movable member against the immobile member beveled surface to thereby bend an arch about the U-shaped piece.

United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,847,006

Rose Nov. 12, 1974 [54] METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BENDING 3.025.905 3/1962 Hlllfl'l' 72/375 ARCHES FOR DOORWAYS AND THE LIKE 3.194.283 7/1965 Young 72/375 [76] Inventor: Herbert 1E. Rose, 140 Mandrake St., FOREIGN PA NTS OR APPLICATIONS P B X 15, 5,, n Fla. 28,636 10 1914 ore-61 Britain 72/376 32811 [22] n 2 7 Primary ExaminerC. W. Lanham I Assistant Examiner-Gene P. Crosby [21 1 Appl' 414,796 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Duckworth, Hobby & Allen [52] U.S. Cl 72/375, 29/155 R, 52/85, [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int Cl 72/379 72/387 72/ 433; An arch bending apparatus is disclosed for bending a Fie'ld 458 459 flat workpiece into an elongated U-shaped piece. An 72/379 6 immobile member having a beveled surface and a piv- 29/l 52/85 oted movable member having a surface corresponding to the beveled surface of the immobile member are adapted to mate together. A lever is provided for mov- [56] References Cited ing the beveled surface of the movable member UNITED STATES PATENTS against the immobile member beveled surface to 939,171 11/1909 Sack 72/379 thereby bend an arch about the U-shaped piece. 2,064,704 12/1936 Vass 3,008,273 11/1961 Widin 52/85 10 Claims, 3 Drawmg Figures METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BENDING ARCHES FOR DOORWAYS AND THE LIKE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for pre-forming arches for doorways, windows and the like, and in particular, relates to such methods and apparatus as employed with bendable materials as a workpiece.

2. Description of the Prior Art Convex curvatures, commonly referred to as arches, are used to impart a pleasing, esthetic appearance to doorways, windows and similar openings. The arch is not only popular in the southern climates of the United States where Spanish architecture has had a significant impact, but also in the northern areas where English Tudor and Scandinavian styles prevail.

While pleasing in appearance, arches add to overall construction costs; material costs are higher, but the most significant cost factor is the additional labor involved. Thus, it is desirable to devise means for building arches which add little in material costs, and allow the arch to be easily installed in a short period of time.

To this end, several techniques have been developed in the prior art. One arrangement is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 1,975,342 to Wilke, which teaches the use of an arch-shaped metal forming strip with rib lath, or similar flexible material, stretched across the forming strip. The metal strip is nailed to the doorway and plaster is then applied to the rib lath to complete the arch. Similar arrangements are disclosed in the following US. Pat. Nos.: 3,008,273 to Widin; 2,064,704 to Vass; and 2,01 1,796 to Christensen.

Schaaf, in US. Pat. No. 2,505,342, discloses apparatus for forming curved concrete panels. These and other prior art arrangements have served to reduce ma terial and labor costs in the construction of arches; however, the cost for making the arch still remains relatively high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates apparatus comprising means for bending a flat workpiece into an elongated U-shaped piece, a first member having a beveled surface, and a second member having a surface corresponding to the beveled surface of the first member and adapted to mate therewith. The apparatus further includes means for moving the second member such that the beveled surface thereof moves against the beveled surface of the first member to thereby bend an arch about the elongated U-shaped piece when positioned between the two members. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes guideways extending normal to and alongside the beveled surface of the first member to guide the second member against the beveled surface and provide means for forming the U-shaped piece simultaneously with the bending operation.

The present invention also contemplates a method for forming arches comprising the steps of bending a flat workpiece into an elongated U-shaped piece; pro-- viding a first member having a beveled surface, and providing a second member having a surface beveled corresponding to the beveled surface of the first member and adapted to mate therewith. An arch is then bent about the elongated U-shaped piece by positioning the piece between the members and thereafter moving the beveled surface of the second member against the beveled surface of the first member. In another embodiment, the two members are rotatably joined together by a hinge so that they may be rotated together to effect the mating of the two surfaces and thereby bend the arch.

THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one step which may be employed in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view illustrating an arch made with the apparatus of FIG. 2 and the method of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The apparatus and method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The starting workpiece preferably comprises a flat, rectangular section of rib lath or'similar flexible material. While the particular dimensions are not critical, it has been found that a 2 X 4 foot piece is suitable.

Initially, the flat rib lath is bent into an elongated U- shaped piece 12. While the rib lath may be bent by a variety of methods, it is preferable to employ a standard 2 X 8 inch board 12 foot; in order that the width of the U-shaped piece 12 conform to the like dimension of standard construction blocks, which are commonly employed to form doorways and windows.

Apparatus according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 2. The apparatus, referred to generally as 10, includes an immobile member 16 having a beveled surface 18. The immobile member 16 includes guideways 20, 22 between and fixed to the beveled surface 18. Each guideway 20, 22 has an outward camber 24 at one extremity thereof adjacent a movable member, described below. Angle iron 26 fixed to the base of each guideway 20, 22 serves to support the immobile member 16.

The apparatus 10 further includes a movable member 30 having a surface 32 beveled corresponding to the beveled surface 18 of the immobile member 16 and adapted to mate therewith. The apparatus also includes means for moving the beveled surface 32 of the movable member 30 against the beveled surface 18 of the immobile member 16. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, this means includes a hinge 34 rotatably joining the two beveled surfaces 18, 32 together, and a lever 36 for providing a mechanical advantage as the movable member 30 is pressed against the immobile member 16. The movable member 30 further includes flat sides 38, 40 fixed to the beveled surface 32 associated therewith.

The operation of the apparatus 10 and the method of the present invention will now be described.

As noted previously with respect to FIG. 1, the rib lath section is initially bent into an elongated shaped piece 12. This may be accomplished about a 2 X 8 inch board, as described above, or may be done simultaneously with formation of the arch, as described next. Thereafter, the elongated U-shaped piece 12 is inserted into the slot formed between the guideways 20, 22 of the immobile member 16. The lever 36 is then pulled forward so as to mate the two beveled surfaces 18, 32 and thereby bend an arch about the elongated U- shaped piece 12. Flat rib lath may also be bent into the U-shape and the arch may be formed simultaneously during this step, since the guideways 20, 22 and the flat sides 38, 40 conform the rib lath to the U-shape during bending. However, better and more uniform arches have been obtained utilizing the separate U-shaped bending step described previously.

After formation, two of the arches, referred to as 50 in FIG. 3 may be stapled in a doorway 52. Plaster, grout or similar construction material is then applied over the rib lath to finish the arch.

Archways made according to the present invention are fabricated in a low-cost, facile manner. lt will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be incorporated in the apparatus described above without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the two members 16, 30 may be hydraulically pressed together in a forward manner, rather than manually in rotation one with the other, as shown in FIG. 2. Further, as noted previously, the U-shape may be imparted to the rib lath simultaneously with the arch bending step.

I claim:

1. Arch bending apparatus comprising:

means for bending a fiat workpiece into an elongated U-shaped piece; 5

a first member having a beveled surface;

a second member having a surface corresponding to said beveled surface of said first member and adapted to mate therewith; and

means for moving said beveled surface of said second member against said beveled surface of said first member to thereby bend an arch about said elongated U-shaped piece when positioned between said members.

2. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 further comprising means for rotatably joining said members together.

3. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 further comprising means coupled to said second member for providing a mechanical advantage during movement thereof.

4. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said first member further comprises guideways extending normal to, and alongside said beveled surface thereof for guiding said second member against said first member.

5. Apparatus as recited in claim 4 wherein said guideways comprise an outward camber at an extremity thereof. 4

6. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising rib lath as said workpiece.

7. A method for making arches for doorways and the like, comprising the steps of:

bending a flat workpiece into an elongated U-shaped piece; providing a first member having a beveled surface; providing a second member having a surface beveled corresponding to said beveled surface of said first member and adapted to mate therewith; and

bending an arch about said elongated U-shaped piece by positioning said U-shaped piece between said members and thereafter moving said beveled surface of said first member against said beveled surface of said second member.

8. The method as recited in claim 7 wherein said moving step comprises:

rotatably joining said members together; and thereafter rotating said second member against said first memher.

9. The method as recited in claim 7 further comprising rib lath as said workpiece.

10. The method as recited in claim 7 further comprising the step of positioning guideways alongside said first member beveled surface to thereby guide said second member during movement thereof. 

1. Arch bending apparatus comprising: means for bending a flat workpiece into an elongated U-shaped piece; a first member having a beveled surface; a second member having a surface corresponding to said beveled surface of said first member and adapted to mate therewith; and means for moving said beveled surface of said second member against said beveled surface of said first member to thereby bend an arch about said elongated U-shaped piece when positioned between said members.
 2. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 further comprising means for rotatably joining said members together.
 3. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 further comprising means coupled to said second member for providing a mechanical advantage during movement thereof.
 4. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said first member further comprises guideways extending normal to, and alongside said beveled surface thereof for guiding said second member against said first member.
 5. Apparatus as recited in claim 4 wherein said guideways comprise an outward camber at an extremity thereof.
 6. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising rib lath as said workpiece.
 7. A method for making arches for doorways and the like, comprising the steps of: bending a flat workpiece into an elongated U-shaped piece; providing a first member having a beveled surface; providing a second member having a surface beveled corresponding to said beveled surface of said first member and adapted to mate therewith; and bending an arch about said elongated U-shaped piece by positioning said U-shaped piece between said members and thereafter moving said beveled surface of said first member against said beveled surface of said second member.
 8. The method as recited in claim 7 wherein said moving step comprises: rotatably joining said members together; and thereafter rotating said second member against said first member.
 9. The method as recited in claim 7 further comprising rib lath as said workpiece.
 10. The method as recited in claim 7 further comprising the step of positioning guideways alongside said first member beveled surface to thereby guide said second member during movement thereof. 